完形填空

　　People have always communicated(交流)with 　　1　　．In the past when they couldn’t write, they used simple symbols(记号)to send their message．Some groups of North America Indians were experts 　　2　　 messages．For example, a small stone on top of a large one meant “This is the way．”If there was another small stone on the right, it meant “Turn right．”Some grass with a knot(结)meant “Danger” 　　3　　．

　　Maybe you know that in the forests of Africa, it 　　4　　 to travel from village．But drum(鼓)　　5　　 from many kilometers away．So, some groups of Africans made their drums 　　6　　 like people．

　　The Incas(印加人)of South America used to send messages by typing knots in a rope．Messages have been found, but 　　7　　 can understand 　　8　　 they mean．And the Egyptians used pictures as a kind of 　　9　　 but only 　　10　　 people 　　11　　 to understand them．

　　Today, we also use 　　12　　．When we are in a car and we see a red light, we stop the car．When a mother says to her child,“Eat your cake!” the child eats the cake sometimes．The red light and the words of the mother are 　　13　　．And it is a 　　14　　 that the basic means of communication between people is, of course, sounds．

　　Maybe you know that there are more than 3000 languages in the world today．And about 13 of 　　15　　 are spoken by large groups of people．Languages of the world are both similar(相似)　　16　　 different．They are similar because we can talk and write about the same things and they are different because we talk and write about these things in 　　17　　 ways and we use different 　　18　　．

　　It is 　　19　　 that we have to learn a second language 　　20　　 communicate with people who do not speak our language．

阅读理解

　　It's interesting that the arrival of snow has different effects on people in different countries．For some countries it is an important happening to celebrate each year, while for others a catastrophe(灾难)or even a wonder．

　　But there are countries between these two kinds that normally expect snow some time over the winter months, but never receive snow regularly or in the same quantities every year．Britain is one of them, for which the arrival of snow quite simple creates problems．Within hours of the first snowfalls, however light, roads are blocked, trains and buses have to stop in the middle of the way．Normal communication is affected as well：telephone calls become difficult and the post immediately takes more time than usual．And almost within hours there are also certain shortages(短缺)－bread, vegetables and other things－not because all these things can no longer be produced or sent to shops, but mainly because people are frightened and go out and store up with food and so“just for fear that something bad should happen”．

　　But why does snow have this effect?After all, the Swiss, the Austrians and the Canadians don't have such problems．It is simple because there is not enough planning and preparation．We need money to buy equipment to deal with snow and ice．To keep the roads clear, for example, requires snow-ploughs(扫雪机)and machines to spread(撒)salt．The reason why a country like Britain does not buy snow-ploughs in that they are only used for a few days in the year, and that money could be more useful for other things such as hospitals, education, helping the old, and so on．